SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED IN TEEN TRAFFICKING CAPER

Arizona authorities report a state trooper rescued a teenager who was being transported to Las Vegas for sex trafficking. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) said the trooper became suspicious after conducting a routine traffic stop of a northbound vehicle on U.S. 93 north of Kingman on January 11.

The 16 year-old victim was in the company of an adult male and an adult female and the trooper reportedly detected sex trafficking indicators through his training in the field of Interdiction for the Protection of Children. DPS said it was determined that the California runaway had been “trafficked” in Arizona and was being transported to Las Vegas for the same.

“Our trooper rescued a juvenile victim from continued exploitation and abuse in three states,” Assistant DPS Director Ken hunter said in a news release. “DPS is committed to protecting the innocent and bringing to justice those who would exploit and harm other through human and sex trafficking.”

DPS declined to identify the suspects who were booked into jail on charges of sex trafficking of a minor, custodial interference and theft of means of transportation. The Mohave County Sheriff’s office however identified the subjects booked into jail on those charges by DPS on January 11 as Las Vegas residents Chica Nakita Harris and Rasheen Lamonte Adams, both 22.